Source: SKY_Sports
Southgate vows to carry on
Gareth Southgate has insisted he will not walk away from Middlesbrough because resignation is 'invariably a selfish act'.
Boro are five points from safety with just seven games of the season remaining and there has been speculation about Southgate's future at The Riverside.
The pressure increased following Saturday's disappointing 4-1 defeat to Bolton, which Southgate later described as 'unacceptable'.
However, the manager maintains that he will not shy away from the challenge as it is his duty to keep Boro in the Premier League.
"Sometimes things leave you scratching your head but results and performances are my responsibility and, in the end, this performance wasn't good enough," Southgate said in the Daily Star.
"There is no suggestion that I will walk away from this, though. Resignation is a little bit like committing suicide because it is invariably a selfish act.
"And I have no reason to walk away because I have to lead people through this. I am held responsible for everything that happens, but I can handle that.
"We know we are in a very difficult situation and we have to do everything we can to try to stay in the division."
Southgate has personal experience of relegation and is desperate to avoid the same fate again, telling his players to battle on until the end of the season.
He said: "I was relegated with Palace in the 1990s so I know what it feels like and some of this team will know what it feels like, having been through the divisions.
"They will know what it would entail, but some haven't and they are experiences that players will taste at some point in their careers.
"But I'm determined that we will keep fighting until there is no air left."
